


Running in Circles

by ghostofchristmaspast



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, Other, Running in Circles, fudge i dont know, let's hope i dont screw up majorly, previously Day's End/Apocalyptic, re-write and hopefully the last time i'm doing any changes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-23
Updated: 2016-07-29
Packaged: 2018-07-16 21:10:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7284940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghostofchristmaspast/pseuds/ghostofchristmaspast
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Imagine this: everything you knew and loved is gone. It's just you, wandering in a world full of only death, and you're completely at the mercy of yourself- your actions. The law is no longer a construct. There are no consequences to scare you out of doing whatever your deprived, starving mind wills. Life no longer has meaning, whether it is one that has been taken or the one that gets to grow as a result of that "sin". In this world- in this merciless, hellish, torturous world, just what would you do to survive?</p><p>[RE-WRITE OF DAY'S END]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Beginning Once More

Natalie wasn't religious. She never was, and she most likely would never be. Even as everything and everyone around her rotted and withered away, she never prayed. She _hoped_ that things would be alright, and she _hoped_ that, say, she wouldn't be shot down or eaten alive when she took one foot out of some unhinged door. The fact remains, however, that she never prayed, and that fact would remain true for a great majority of its time prancing and frolicking around in the lush green of her thoughts.  
        Natalie thought she was alone as she wandered the gory sight that was the long abandoned streets, but, when she turned the corner into an alley out of some bored whim that had made itself suddenly known, she found that she had been proven wrong. Natalie stayed just at the entrance of the alley, watching onwards as a woman with short, blonde hair dry-heaved into an already over-filed trash can. She only had her red knife with her, which she clutched tightly in her left hand. Natalie had no intention of attacking the woman or robbing her, but you can never be too sure in the unfortunate setting she unwillingly found herself in.  
        The woman leaned back and ran her fingers through her mildly tangled bob-cut and kneeled to pick up her bow and quiver. She froze when she finally turned to her left and caught sight of the other nervous, shaking woman. She didn't act out violently, didn't threaten Natalie, but instead spoke with that soon-to-be familiar, slightly raspy voice of hers, "Why, hello. It's been a while since I've seen another living person."  
Natalie stood straight, but it took a while for her to gather the courage to spit out a response. "Um, h-hello. Hi."  
"You're not dangerous, are you? You don't look like it."  
Natalie's eyes darted around, and she grew embarrassed. "Are you?"  
The woman laughed a little. "No. Don't worry 'bout me." She walked forward, holding the bow in her left hand. "Your name?"  
Natalie relaxed and let her hands fall to her sides. "N-Natalie. Your's?"  
"Rose, darlin'. I'm Rose."   
        Natalie wasn't going to lie; after the introduction of their names, it was pretty awkward. Neither of them seemed to know where to go from their. Offering to go with each other- too soon, but just leaving- rude. The line between "too soon" and "the right time" were blurred for Rose, however, and she decided that she would go with Natalie. After all, there wasn't a point in wandering endlessly unless you had someone there to wander endlessly with you. Natalie reluctantly agreed but was a bit intimidated by Rose's all-too-friendly behaviour. Maybe she was just lonely, but, Natalie wasn't going to lie; she was pretty lonely, too.


	2. Imprisoned

         If asked whether Natalie enjoyed, well, life, she would most likely just shrug and give a nervous smile. If asked whether Rose enjoyed life, she would most likely give an oral list of all of the things she enjoyed. The list was short nowadays, but there was always still a list- always. However, when asked whether either of them knew just what the hell they were doing, neither of them had an answer, but it didn't take long until one of them finally did think of something: the country. Natalie was the one to bring it up. The two of them could flee the city and migrate to the country, where there would be, theoretically, considerably less of the cannibalistic corpses that devoured anything living wherever they so happened to be brought into existence. Rose agreed, and that was all they needed to start their trek into the relatively unknown.  
        The journey there wasn't too dangerous. A few _things_ here are there, but it wasn't anything they couldn't handle. There were no other people or animals that they saw, just trees and the paved road. It was quiet moments like these that made the world seem empty. Well, it was empty for all the two knew. In fact, they could be the last people on the planet, and they would have no clue that it were true. Natalie hoped that it wasn't, but, as she glanced over to her left and saw Rose walking tranquilly beside her, she supposed that it very well might be.  
        The two women walked in utter silence, which neither of them felt the need to break, but, as everything else must, peace must come to an end, too. Rose suddenly stopped and spoke, "Do you see that?" She pointed to their right, where a partially wilted corn field laid. Natalie was tempted to answer negatively, but, then, she caught sight of it. A thin, wispy line of smoke arose from the field, and they watched as it gradually grew thicker and darker until it was a large, ashy, black cloud that was carried by the wind which blew north. "A fire?" Natalie finally responded.  
        Rose jogged to the right where the field lay, and, as she looked closer, found that a small path had been made. Natalie made haste to catch up with her companion. The stalks of corn had been pushed to either side so many times that they began to take on their forced shape. Natalie couldn't react in time to stop Rose from barreling down the pathway, if it even was one at all, and her desperate calls for her to stop met deaf ears; thus, Natalie was all but forced to follow.  
        It took but five minutes to get to the fire at a run, and there their efforts were greeted with the most horrid stench either of them had ever smelled. They simply looked ahead, however, and the source of such a disgusting scent was before them. A pile of rotting corpses- both human and animal- were set aflame amid a large circle where the corn had been cut down to make room. Rose barely had time to walk forwards before she was grabbed from behind; one of the assailant's hands was wrapped around her mouth, and the other was around her waist and quickly pulling her backwards. Natalie, wide-eyed and confused, had barely turned before she was struck in the back of the head.  
        She had no idea of how long it had been when she finally awoke, but she was glad nevertheless that Rose still remained by her side. The only thing stopping her from rushing over to the other was the fact that their captors were standing by them. There were two- both boys. One was shorter than the other and looked considerably younger, and the other was taller but didn't look older by much- maybe five years the other's elder, at most. The shorter one was wearing a cloth around their mouth, which Natalie guessed might have been to keep out the smoke. She saw no reason for them to hide their face, but that, too, could have been the reason. The older, however, was bare-faced.  
        Natalie suddenly became aware that she wasn't tied or gagged. Neither of them were injured, either. She split her gaze from Rose and looked at the two boys. She certainly didn't want to speak first, and that was why she was glad when the taller one knelt and broke the silence, "Sorry for this. We were just- we're just cautious, you know? We didn't want to leave you outside, so we brought you in." Natalie glanced over at Rose to see what she thought of the two boys, and, of course, Rose didn't seem all too worried about the situation. The elder stood and- an action she thought unwise- handed her back her knife. Rose had already taken hold of her bow.  
"I'm Kegan," he smiled, but, whether it was a fake smile or a genuine one, Natalie couldn't tell.  
The shorter one didn't speak and kept their stern, stubborn glare affixed on the two women.  
"And this is Sidney." Kegan gestured towards the other. From the looks of it, Sidney couldn't have been more than thirteen. "Um, are you two hungry? We have plenty of-"  
"Starving," Rose interrupted.  
"Oh, okay." Kegan awkwardly laughed. "Yeah, of course."  
        Kegan showed them the way to the kitchen, where there were stools placed in front of an island. He gestured towards the seats, which they both gratefully sat in. Sidney had taken off the cloth around their mouth by now but was still clearly reluctant to trust either of the two. There were three stools, but they just stood by themselves in the corner of the kitchen, eating out of a jar of peanut butter with a butter knife. It didn't take long before Kegan displayed a bowl of beans to each of them. "Sorry," he said with an apologetic smile. "We have plenty, but this is probably the best of what we do have."  
They all ate in silence for a couple of minutes, before Rose decided to strike up conversation, "So, is it just you two here?"  
"Yeah, it is," Kegan quickly dismissed the question.  
"Do you get many visitors?" She spooned more of the food into her mouth.  
"No. You're the first ones we've had."  
Natalie looked up from her bowl and out of the kitchen window, which, she realized, faced the field, and she could still see smoke remnants of the fire. However, that wasn't what first caught her attention. "Who's that?" She finally spoke, pointing to a woman making her way up the gravel path towards the house and leading a horse.  
Sidney nearly slammed their jar on the counter and leaned over to look through the window, and Kegan half-turned and whispered, "Shit."  
Sidney sent a glare to Kegan, and the elder said, "You two have to hide. You're not-" A gunshot cut him off, but he continued when he looked out and saw that it was just the woman offing one of those monsters. "-not supposed to be here."  
Rose hopped off of the stool and pulled Natalie with her. "Where do you want us to hide?"  
Kegan pointed upwards. "You can hide upstairs."  
        The stranger outside knocked, and Sidney practically pushed them both up the stairs. Even from their spot in one of the bedrooms, they could make out the conversation. The woman, who they soon found to be named Eliza, spoke nicely at first, but her voice soon turned harsh. She shouted at them about not being somewhere on time and losing their horse; they heard a meager attempt at an apology, probably on Kegan's part, but it was cut off with the unmistakable sound of Eliza hitting one of them- twice. Eliza's voice suddenly went low when she said, "What the hell is this?"  
        They heard her loudly-falling footsteps and the ring of something metal before she stopped. Something dragging on wood echoed through the silent house, and that was when Rose remembered that she had forgotten her bow. "What's this?" Eliza repeated. "I know that you didn't have this before, because, let me remind you, we keep track of _all_ of your weapons." She walked back. "Where did you get this?"  
"W-We found it," Kegan's wavering voice spoke up.  
"So, you just took it?" She coldly hit him again. "Thieves."  
        Rose cast a look of worry to Natalie and flinched when she heard the sound of the front door opening and slamming shut. Holding hands, they both rushed down the stairs, and, of course, her bow had been taken. A large red, bruising mark was starting to take shape on Kegan's face, but Sidney remained untouched. Kegan no longer looked sad or hurt, just completely angry. "Who was she? You seem to be acquainted," Rose stated, losing her child-like demeanor she previously wore.  
Kegan sighed. "Elizabeth Arma." He rubbed the place where she had hit him. "Sit, and I'll explain."  
Sidney looked up at Rose. "Sorry about your bow."  
She just nodded and smiled. They seemed to have a soft spot for their brother.  
        So, Kegan explained to them what exactly was going on, as he saw no harm in telling them, even though, of course, they had met only a few hours prior. Apparently, a group was formed a couple months after the epidemic broke out, and they decided to call themselves "The Rangers". It was harmless, at first, even helpful; they drove for as long as they could, wherever they could, killing the monsters that ravaged this ill-stricken world. Eliza used to be one of the good ones, but it changed. A rumour that the two brothers caught wind of was that the leader's, Mark's, wife had been attacked and killed when a horde of the monstrosities wandered too close to their headquarters, and they were forced to flee. He broke down and failed to lead them. They're hardly an "organization" anymore; just vigilantes in rag-tag groups.  
        Kegan and Sidney ended up in one of the bad groups; this group was the one Eliza had appointed herself to. She had changed, driven close to insane by her new-found power over people, even if it was but a few. Kegan left out a few of the details pertaining to what happened next, but he did say they she gave them food and shelter- the house. Sidney all-the-while had been sitting on the third stool with the same look of sternness. Kegan finished with, "I want to leave them somehow- for Sidney, mostly, and I know this is a longshot, but can you two.. help us?"


	3. Such a Lovely, Painful Thing

She was alone. The utter silence surrounding her resonated through the black forest, and her heart beat so wildly in her chest that she was sure it would have been the only thing she could have heard if it weren't for the ringing that still pierced her ears. She was being hunted, because, with the ignorance and innocence of a newborn fawn, she had blindly stumbled into the wolf's den, and damn persistent these starving wolves were. She habitually adjusted her scratched, crooked glasses and suddenly became aware of the stinging pain of the many scratches that running through thorny, low-hanging branches had resulted in. When she had finally calmed down, she realized that she had lost her hatchet somewhere along the way and was now subsequently unarmed. She knew she wouldn't last long.   
        Dr. Ren Winters was the woman's name- the woman who had ran from, and inevitably captured by, the Rangers. They didn't treat her too badly, at least, by apocalyptic standards; they gave her small amounts of food and water every once in a while, just enough to keep her alive. None of them spoke to her; hell, most of them didn't even bother looking at her, except for one. It was a woman, perhaps the same age she herself was. The other woman told Ren that her name was Lea- Lea Aneko; she told her that she was a neuroscientist and explained that she was in nearly the same situation Ren was in, except that she "earned" her rights within the group.  
        This is what the Rangers did; they recruited other survivours whether it was by force or otherwise, and they killed anyone who tried to escape. She had witnessed this herself. The Rangers' reason for committing such murderous acts was simply this: anyone who resists is a potential threat. Lea further explained that the sole purpose for this "cult"- the specific word the scientist used- was just that: to eliminate threats. Their main focus was the dead, of course, but people, the very creatures they were trying to protect, weren't completely out of the question, especially since they were running wild without law or leader, guided only by their distorted human views of who deserved justice or mercy and who deserved death.   
        The fear of death was the foundation for the Rangers' organization, if one could even call it such; that was what Ren had gotten out of the conversation. A group of people tracks down and kills another group of people in the hopes that it will boost their likelihood of survival; it was, unfortunately, a typical occurrence throughout history. That wasn't her problem, however; her problem was figuring out a way of escape. Perhaps, if she did manage to find a way out, she would take the other woman with her, but, that was, only if Lea stayed out of her way. The doctor had better things to take care of than another person.  
        The rebellion was poorly planned to say the least. None of them had any idea of where to start. The fact that the Rangers' followers were in several small groups that never stayed in one place made it hard enough to make a statement, but the fact that none of them knew where the others were at a given time, excluding the stationary ones, like Kegan and Sidney, made it even harder. However, Kegan had an idea that just may work. Once every two or three months, a group of the Rangers passed through the area on "rounds," which he further explained that they eliminate any of the creatures that had wandered into the area since the last time they were there. The group was always ordered to stop by the brothers' house and drop off food or anything else they needed either by Eliza or, more rarely, Mark. Kegan went on to say that, when they finally made their way into the small, deserted town where the two lived, they were going to kill them.


	4. Veto

       Had she ever done something like this? Of course not, but she knew that Leia had. That was why she was going to "use" her, for lack of better wording. The doctor decided she could trust the other enough to help her escape, and now was the perfect moment to do it. Ren guessed the group had been ambushed, but neither she nor Leia had seen the attackers. All they heard were gunshots and shouting before the whole caravan went up in a flurry. It wouldn't be long until they all calmed down and chose a place to take cover. There was a corn field to their right, and that, Dr. Winters told Leia, would be were they would run. She could tell that Leia didn't completely trust her, but, if she wanted to free herself from her circle of murder and theft, she didn't have a choice.   
        It seemed that the mere minutes that Leia took to untie the bonds were terribly stretched out into a thin thread of tense impatience as the other Rangers scurried about to avoid the bullets that the attackers shot haphazardly, but they were free. Ren grabbed Leia's wrist and dashed toward the cornfield; it was so close, but she cursed at herself for being so careless when she tripped and toppled forward. She grunted in pain when she looked down at the bleeding bullet hole in her calf, but, even still, Ren limped forward with Leia at her side. However, but few minutes later, Dr. Winters collapsed upon the dry dirt and tried to contain her cry of frustration and agony. The shouts of the Rangers had subsided now, and she knew it wouldn't be long until they realized the two had gone missing. Leia looked behind her from her crouched spot in front of Ren, her breathing quick with nervousness.  
"Did you hear that?" She couldn't see anything, but she was certain that there was something within the dry, decaying stalks of corn.   
"What is it?" Ren grunted; the pain was more than enough to anger her over small things such as Leia's unease.   
          "Shit," she muttered, trying to scoot herself back across the ground without agitating her wound further. A boy stood behind Leia; they were quite young. She thought it foolish to be afraid of a child, but, when that child was holding the person who saved your life at gunpoint, her fear was justified. "Don't-" she groaned as she propped herself up, "-move, Leia." She saw Leia move her lips to say something, but she couldn't hear what the other had whispered. Another woman appeared from the field, but she appeared unarmed. Her arms and shirt were crimson with fresh blood, and the woman's grave expression matched her younger companion's. The blonde woman stared down at Dr, Winters; her gaze locked with Ren's, cold and stern. "We're not with them," she choked out.   
"Don't lie," Rose quietly said.   
"I'm  _not._ They captured us, and we escaped. That's it."  
The boy met the woman's suspicious glance with an infuriated glare but didn't make a sound.  
"Are you the people who fucking shot me?" Ren demanded.   
"I'd watch it if I were you," Sidney finally snapped.   
"And how old are you? Twelve?"  
"They're right," Rose spoke up. "But, you're not of use to us. Let's leave them, Sidney."   
Sidney lowered their firearm, but she could tell that it was reluctant. "Fine, but I'm not going back there."   
"Go back to the house, then."  
Leia slowly turned to face the two. "W-Wait! Can't you help us? Ren was sh-shot."   
"Tough shit, lady," Sidney angrily muttered. "My brother was shot." Without a word more, the brave little boy stormed off.   
Rose, however, stayed; she thought for a second, sighed, and gestured with her head to the path Sidney took. "Come on."  
         Neither of them wanted to speak about what happened, especially because, courtesy of Rose, they now had a wounded doctor on their hands whom Sidney had shot during her escape. Sidney wasn't too happy that Rose had decided to bring Ren and Leia to the house, not to mention that their brother had been killed as a result of his own plan. Then, there were Eliza and Mark, but they had time. They both had to take care of Ren's injury before they had to worry about Eliza's undoubtedly severe punishment. Rose didn't seem as worried as themselves, but they knew that was because she didn't know just how cruel Eliza could be.   
          Is it normal to be relieved that someone had died? That was the question that Sidney found they asked themselves often. No, they weren't asking for the corpses whose skin burned and split in the hellish fire that they had set aflame; they were asking for their brother. Don't get Sidney wrong; they didn't want Kegan to die. They were devastated and surrounded by strangers they had only known for barely a week. They didn't know what exactly to feel. Maybe it just hadn't registered yet.  
        When Sidney suggested that they leave the house before the rest of the Rangers realised that the others weren't coming back- that they were dead, Ren and Leia agreed right away, but Rose was more than hesitant. She had had no problem moving from place to place before, but this felt different to her. She felt like she would be signing some sort of metaphorical contract that she could only revoke at her death which it itself would inevitably bring about. Rose, at the end of her mental debate, managed to convince herself that she just couldn't leave Sidney; she can't leave a thirteen-year-old boy with two adult strangers with unknown, suspicious intentions, even is she was still something of a stranger to them. Maybe Rose was too blindly trusting for her own good, or- What was that?  
        Rose turned suddenly to find Sidney picking up something from the ground; the slightly charred object was only a few feet from the fire. Sidney, too, turned to face the other, and that was when she saw the object: a walkie-talkie. A voice sounded from the two-way radio, "Hello? Is anyone there?" It sounded like Sidney, but a bit deeper. "Hello?" The voice said again.  
Rose nodded silently, giving Sidney permission to respond.  
The boy put it up to their mouth but hesitated. "Hello..?"  
"Who is this?" This voice trembled slightly; whoever it was was frightened.  
"Uh, um-" Sidney took a nervous glance at Rose. "My name is Sidney."  
Rose went up to the teen, took the radio out of their hand, and demanded, "Who are you? _Where_ are you?"  
"I need help," was the voice's simple response. They were whispering now.  
"Who are you?" She repeated.  
There was a minute of silence before the voice responded, "I'm-" Another pause. "My name is Regan."  
"Are you with them?" Sidney asked.  
By now, Ren and Leia had heard their conversation with seemingly no-one and wandered over, crowding around them.  
"With who?"  
"The Rangers."  
"Who?"  
Sidney sighed. "Never-mind. Where are you?"  
"A- Some house."  
They looked at the others; Ren looked uninterested, but Leia and Rose both appeared concerned. "Are you in a forest?"  
"Yes."  
"Good. We are, too."  
Ren frowned at the fact that Sidney had just told a stranger where they were.  
"You need to leave, then," the voice warned.  
Leia appeared puzzled; Ren was a little pissed, and Rose was shocked at the response. She took the radio from Sidney and asked, "Why?"  
The voice was more steady when it said its next words, "Look at the road."  
        They couldn't see it through the dense field, and it was quiet; it took a while to focus on it over the crackling of the fire, but it grew. The moaning, snarling, gurgling, and shuffling of the beasts that bore rotting flesh grew closer and closer as they tripped over each other's gnarled legs in their desperation to finally finish their journey and find the two things loud enough and bright enough to catch and keep their attention: gunshots and fire. Before they could do the obvious, which was run, the voice spoke, "You should really start running."


	5. Begleiter

         He was forced to take to the basement even after everything everyone had done for him. They had died for him, and he was hiding like the coward he knew deep down he was. Regan was not completely alone, however, for one of them survived, albeit bitten. This was after he had contacted the four strangers. He could only hope that they bought his lies and that feigning ignorance of the Rangers was the right choice. Last time he checked, there wasn't a "Sidney" within their organization, at least, not one that he knew of. The Rangers only kept in touch with the people assigned to their squad, Eliza, and Mark, after all. Regan only knew that some were heading through this area because Eliza had told them in advance, basically telling them not to flip their shit and kill them. He had originally called to warn them, as his "base," one could call it, was overrun by the horde and heading their way, and, thus, bringing us to his present situation.   
        There was something special about Regan, so to speak. He had been captured by the Rangers, as is most of the rangers' stories, but he had grown accustomed to their ways. He didn't necessarily like their ways, but he had grown attached to the people. They called him gifted, but it wasn't anything he thought much of. Regan was extremely efficient with a firearm, for his age, at least. He supposed that was why they thought he was so special- his age-, but they often denied and told him that he was the best sharpshooter in the organization. Regan wasn't going to lie, however; all their praise certainly made him proud of himself.  
        That skill wasn't exactly going to come in handy in the situation he found himself. Lafayette, the only survivour except for himself, had been bitten on his forearm. Despite bleeding to the point of lightheadedness, they both had managed to lock and barricade the basement door, and, now, their main focus was eliminate the threat of death to as many living as possible, as they were both taught. In short, Regan had to amputate Lafayette's arm, which was something neither of them were medically nor mentally prepared for. It was a good thing that the Rangers took relatively good care of each other, and the basement had basic things for survival, such as water and food. Luckily for them, while Lafayette tried to slow down his bleeding, Regan scrounged up bandages, matches, and an axe. He may not be medically trained, but it was grossly simple to him- a result of his inexperience, not natural gift.  
        Needless to say, it was incredibly messy and painful, and the constant banging of flesh-eating monsters at the door didn't help. Regan was sure that Lafayette had fainted mid-amputation, but he hadn't noticed until after he had finished completely. At least, he could rest assured that Lafayette didn't feel all of it. They only had two urgent problems: the question of whether he would actually wake up and the question of how they would escape. In fact, the possibility of having to accept death hadn't even registered in Regan's mind, perhaps it was just his fifteen-year-old innocence. Perhaps, more likely, it was his pride.  
        It was only, what seemed like, an hour later that Regan noticed the small window next to a corner of the basement. He immediately picked himself up and looked through. There was dirt at the bottom of the window, and a metal sheet to prevent the dirt from completely covering the window, as the basement was built underground. A short ladder was placed on the piece of metal, and a cage-like door covered the top. It didn't have a lock, but Regan couldn't see much further than that and was unable to tell if the opening was surrounded. It didn't matter much to him, anyway. He decided to wait until Lafayette awoke to attempt to flee.  
        Their lungs burned, and their legs ached as Sidney finally slowed down to a halt. Everyone else was still with them, and they had made good distance from the horde. The voice on the other end of the radio hadn't slipped from their mind once. Regan was scared; Sidney could tell. Regan's voice interrupted the silence, "Are you still there?"  
Panting, Sidney hurriedly responded, "Yeah, we're still here."  
"We? Who else is with you?"  
Ren cast him a glare.  
"It's, uh- Just my brother."  
There was a quick pause. "Brother? Wasn't there a woman with you?"  
Ren strode over and yanked the radio from their grasp. "Who the hell is this? What the fuck do you want?"  
"My name is Regan; I already told you," his voice was agitated. "I'm trapped."  
"Where?" Sidney took the radio back.  
Leia went over to Rose and whispered something to her.  
"I'm on the left side of the road- where the horde came from."  
Their whispers soon turned into light arguing.  
"Is anyone else with you?"  
Regan saw no point in lying. "Yes, one, but he's injured."  
        Rose grabbed Sidney's arm before they could respond and gently pulled them around. The fire had spread; they could see it clearly from where they were. Even if the entire horde would catch fire, Sidney's house would likely be burned down along with them. At least, now, the decision had been made for all of them; they had to go on.  
"Hello?" Regan asked.  
"I'm still here," Sidney choked out; their eyes were locked on the fire that would eventually swallow their home.  
"Sidney, we should go. Find a way around," Rose suggested.  
        They nodded silently, and all four of them moved deeper into the forest. The roaring of the fire finally died out when they got far enough away, but Regan hadn't spoken in a while. They wondered if he had managed to escape, with the monsters being attracted to the flames and all. After a bit of wandering, Ren muttering something about hating the forest, and a supportive pat from Leia, they found themselves at a road, which Rose identified as the road she and Natalie took to get to the field; they were north of Sidney's house and could faintly see the fire in the far distance. The only visible remnants of the horde were a few stragglers that mindlessly roamed the empty street, moaning of their self-engendered loneliness. Sidney brought the radio to his mouth, "Are you okay, Regan?"  
"Yeah, I'm fine. They're not as loud, but I can still hear them."  
"We're coming. Don't worry."  
"To the left, right?" Leia confirmed.  
"That's what Regan said."  
        Ren groaned dramatically, which was something Sidney found that she did often within the few days that they had known each other, and they plunged into the forest. Dr. Winters was still limping terribly, and Leia, like an obedient dog, suddenly- and without a word- left the group for a few minutes. She came back shortly afterward with a large stick and rather awkwardly offered it to the doctor as an aid in walking. Ren gave a frown in response, as if to say, "How dare you do something kind," but she took the stick despite her unappreciative appearance at the act. Within the time that they spent walking, Regan never checked in once; not to rush them, check to see if they were okay- or even still coming, or update them on his dangerous situation. It was his silence that made Sidney question the validity of Regan's endangerment. When they looked around at everyone else, Ren still appeared as disgruntled as ever, Leia looked satisfied with her accepted gift, and Rose didn't seem completely there, perhaps because she still hadn't gotten over watching her friend being shot and killed mere days prior. Neither of them had, but Sidney just wanted their brother as far away from their thoughts as possible. Perhaps that was selfish.  
        Regan sighed and uncurled himself from the fetal position he had assumed. Lafayette was still unconscious, but he was starting to get restless waiting for the strangers to arrive. His companion needed medical attention, and he'd be damned if he were just going to sit around and depend upon others. Regan scuffled over to the window in a half-crawl half-walk formation, looked outside briefly, and unlocked it. The pane slid to the side and made an opening more than big enough for him to fit through. With some difficulty, the boy pulled himself outside of the window and looked up through the cage door. It was silent. Regan didn't know what to do if he did manage to get out. He didn't want to leave Lafayette like he was, but he certainly didn't want to just sit there as he lay unconscious and badly wounded. He closed the window and reached up to unhinge the lock on the door. As he pulled himself up with what strength that had left over, he glanced over at Lafayette. The strangers were taking far too long for comfort, and, besides, this was the least Regan could do for everything Lafayette had done for him.  
        It was a few minutes later while he was only getting deeper into the forest that Regan realized he had forgotten the axe. The bright side was that Regan had a revolver in his boot, which he carried for emergencies such as this, and, when- if- Lafayette awoke while he was gone, the man would, at least, have a weapon at his disposal. Then again, Regan thought it would be pretty hard to swing an axe with only one hand. Hell, it was hard for him to swing it with two. He took solace knowing that Lafayette was strong. The boy looked wearily around himself. What if Lafayette thought he had abandoned him? Regan knew that he didn't have the best reputation with most of the Rangers; they all thought he was a brat because Eliza favoured him and spoiled him with extra rations and the like. Regan guessed it had something to do with the fact that he was the only child in the organization. Most of the Rangers were didn't bother themselves with other people, and Eliza and Lafayette were the only "friends" he had made. The only reason the others in his squad risked their life for him was because they knew it would make a good impression on Eliza, but he didn't care. He only cared about the ones that cared about him. Regan convinced himself long ago that that wasn't selfish.


	6. Pars Una

        The forest was desolate; so much so that he could almost feel the stillness and loneliness closing in. The rustling of the gentle breeze between branches and the fluttering and chirping of a few birds as they merrily went on their way were the only things that broke the settled, still silence. The crunch of his feet on the dry twigs of the forest ground made him jump with every unexpected snap. He'd never been alone like this before, even before the Rangers. He had always had someone by his side. The air around him seemed to grow colder, but he knew it was only because he became aware of it after an attempt at distracting himself from his thoughts. Regan glanced down at the radio that was stuffed into a pocket of his over-sized coat. "Where are you?" Sidney's voice broke the silence, and he was relieved that it had.  
Regan pulled the radio out. "What do you mean?"  
"I mean we're here. We got to the basement."  
His breath caught in his throat in excitement. "Thank God. Is Lafayette okay? Is he still alive?"  
There was a pause. "Lafayette? The injured man you were talking about?"  
"Yeah, yeah, is he okay?" Regan repeated with an intense urgency.  
"I don't know. There's blood,- _lots_ of blood- but nobody's here."  
He froze in place, and he felt his breathing quicken. "What do you mean? He was there when I left; I-"  
"Where are you?" Sidney repeated.  
"I don't know!" Regan nearly shouted in frustration. "That's not the problem!" He lowered his voice, and it quivered with desperation, "You _need_ to find him. Please."  
The pause was considerably longer than the last.  
"Fine, but we're waiting until you make it back to the cabin so we can talk about it."  
"Alright," he muttered. "I'm coming." Regan thought it best not to tell them that he was armed, just in case.  
        The sky darkened as Regan began his journey back to where he should've stayed. Light droplets of rain here-and-there soon turned into a cold, heavy downpour that harshly stung at his skin as the wind orchestrated the needle-like flow with the ardor of a starving wolf tearing into the corpse of its prey. It took him longer to find the cabin than it did to get to where he was redirected by Sidney, but he was surprised nonetheless that he had reached it much sooner than expected. Soaking and shivering, Regan circled the house to the front entrance. Corpses littered the steps and porch. He recognized some of them, but the urgency that troubled his thoughts of finding Lafayette far outweighed the urge to grieve over their deaths. If there was anything he had learned in the Rangers' possession, he had learned to focus on the living.  
        There they were. Regan had suspected Sidney was lying when they falsely claimed that it was only they and their brother, but he was lying, too. There were two of them: a woman and a boy that he supposed was Sidney. The first thing they spoke was his name; a light, questioning flair accompanied Sidney's voice. It wasn't soft or smooth; their voice was harsh, uninviting. It was a sound that Regan didn't want to hear in their frozen and sorrowful state. He had to force the words out, as they were something outside of his normal behaviour, "I'm here. Let's just find Lafayette and get this over with."  
        There was something unspoken between them, but Regan couldn't exactly explain what it was. He felt like he could trust them, but it was a forced trust. He wasn't sure if either of them could feel it too. Perhaps it was just his hopeful imagination getting the better of him, but he felt as if they weren't strangers. Or, perhaps, he was simply being too trusting.   
        Regan knew that Lafayette had another radio that contacted Eliza directly, and, if she wasn't suspicious on the lack of speech already, Lafayette would no doubt inform her on their situation. Although he thought that he wasn't in any immediate danger, Regan could only pray that she would arrive soon.  
         
         She was quiet as she stepped through the house. Even in the silence of the night, she was careful not to make a sound. Nervously, Jenna clutched the knife that would free her from her personal hell. She, Jenna Welling, had been kidnapped and separated from- or, rather, what was left of- her family in the early months of the epidemic. They were completely insane. She didn't know either of their names, and, instead, the woman and the man simply asked- told- her to refer to them as "Mother" and "Father". Being kidnapped was only the half of it. They took care of her well enough, but everything went to shit when their food supply started to twindle. Jenna did everything she could to help, but they were extremely protective. She was hardly allowed to go outside. Jenna is sure she'll never get over what they made her do; they forced her into cannibalism. She often wondered why her seething hatred for the pair remained dormant until this night. The girl supposed she was just finally coming to her senses.  
        Jenna quietly turned the handle on the bedroom door and swung it open quickly to avoid squeaking. She peeked into the dark room, but her eyes had adjusted enough to see the sleeping forms of some mad strangers who had taken her in. The "family" dog slept at the end of the bed, but she knew that he would not attack her. Oliver, which they had named the greyhound, was a loyal dog, and they used him for the gruesome task of hunting down their victims. She tiptoed inside the room and to the side of the bed. Oliver's head lifted, and he glanced at the girl. His tail started to wag at the sight of his companion, but he remained silent, even when Jenna tearfully finished the deed. It wasn't anything that she couldn't handle, just a simple slitting of their throats. She didn't think she would feel anything for doing this, but she did. Jenna was devastated that it had come to this, but she had something else to do.  
        Oliver gleefully tagged along as Jenna crouched down at the side of the house. She listened. Quiet sobbing and sniffling came from inside the small cellar. She quickly removed the padlock and swung open the door. Immediately, the two girls instinctually cowered from the outside, becoming completely silent. The girls grew more comfortable, however, upon realizing it was Jenna. They had managed to conjure something of a friendship within the week they had been imprisoned. Allie and Rachelle were their names. Jenna slowly leaned forward and outstretched her hand. Her voice was unsteady but clear, "Come with me. We're safe now."  
        Those events were two months ago.  
        Jenna was relieved that they had elected to keep Oliver. Some of them had become fond of the dog, but Jenna wasn't sure if she would ever see him again. Allie was actually happy that they had found the starving girls. They took care of them, but Jenna had reason to be wary. She had believed strangers the first time, and it ended terribly, to say the least. Rachelle followed her lead and remained suspicious, but they'd be damned if they weren't going to accept food, especially in their situation. They called themselves the Rangers; that's what the one called Azalia told her. Everything was fine for a good while. They followed the rules; they were good.  
        That was yesterday.  
        Jenna was alone in an observation room. All she knew was that she was being watched by however many people were behind the glass pane. It was sudden; she didn't know what she did wrong, if this was even a punishment. She couldn't find Allie or Rachelle that day; perhaps they were in the same situation. An anger akin to the one she felt months ago began to rise again when the door slowly creaked open. A woman entered. The end of her unbuttoned trench coat trailed gracefully behind her, and her ruffled navy blue scarf covered her neck and, depending on her position, chin. This was the woman she had come to know as Eliza Arma.  
She sat in the chair across from Jenna, leaned forward on her elbows, and spoke, "Hello, Jenna." Her voice was soft and deep; not at all harsh like the girl expected.  
Jenna elected not to speak.  
Eliza smiled. "You're special to me," she blurted out. "Do you want to know why?"  
She nodded.  
"Good. I'll explain, then. I suppose you've met-" Eliza was interrupted by static from the radio clipped on her pants. She lifted it to her mouth and held a hand towards Jenna, signaling her to stay quiet. "Hello? Who is this?"  
A grunt and panting was all that answered.  
"Hello?" Arma demanded. "Who-"  
"Eliza," A pained voiced rasped.  
"Lafayette?" The woman suddenly stood, knocking the chair back a few inches. "Where are you? Are you alright?"  
"We need.." Another grunt. "-help.."  
"Lafayette?" Her sly expression was replaced with a severe look of worry.  
The man remained silent.  
"Fuck." She looked down at Jenna. "Stay here."  
        Eliza stormed out of the room, loudly slamming the door behind her. The only thing she heard afterward was the woman barking commands to other rangers, and Jenna was, again, alone in an observation room. She pushed herself away from the table with a dull screech of the metal legs of the chair sliding on the floor. The girl walked up to the glass pane and tapped on it. She spoke aloud, "Are you watching me?"  
Jenna heard a chuckle. "Of course."


	7. And, Yet, They Walk

"El impulso de sobrevivir es de gran alcance, ¿no/si?" = "The urge to survive is powerful, no/yeah?"  
  
  
  
  
        Eliza's heart sped with both rage and concern upon seeing Lafayette's terribly crippled state. She found relief in that Lafayette was alive but unconscious, but it was temporary; Regan wasn't with him, and neither were any of the others. She felt the familiar warmth of anger rise to her face as she gripped her hunting rifle tightly from atop the horse she had chosen. The horse was pawing at the ground and squirming nervously as if it knew what was to come out of the woods when the Rangers she sent in finally found them, but Eliza knew it was folly to think such a thing.  
        The first thing she noticed was that the forest was completely silent, and the only thing that kept her worried thoughts at bay was the crunching and snapping of the twigs and leaves under her squad's feet. There were no gunshots or shouting, which is what she would expect if the group was in trouble.  
"You really care about them, eh?" Hailey's rough voice sounded from beside her.  
Eliza cast him an indifferent glance and frowned. "Why the fuck do you care?"  
The man laughed. "No need to get so defensive, boss. It's not a secret."  
Her brows furrowed. "Where did you get those?"  
"Oh, these?" Hailey gave an odd smile and held up the pack of cigarettes in question; one of them was hanging from his mouth, but he had yet to light it. "Found 'em."  
Eliza shook her head in disappointment. "You know you're not allowed to have those, Hailey."  
"Well, ma'am," Hailey sighed deeply, "we all know you're not above breaking the rules once in a while, either, eh?"  
Her glance twisted into a glare, and she lowered her voice in a harsh whisper, "How the hell do you know about that?"  
"Heh. Doesn' matter, 'Liza. You've got a soft spot for that kid." He held his hand up in defense before she could retaliate. "Now, don't get me wrong; that's a good thing- for you, anyway, but it could get you into some _real_ trouble."  
All Eliza could do in response was scowl at the elder man, but the squad's attention was shifted from their squabble when "Nessie"- the nickname that the other Rangers had gifted the girl due to her belief in supernatural creatures; her real name was Anne- shouted, "Hey! Look'it this!"  
        Nessie smiled widely and turned to show the others the bag she was holding by a strap with one finger. None of them recognized it; Eliza would know if it had belonged to anyone in Regan's squad. As Nessie rotated the bag, she saw the distressed, white logo on the side and aggressively ripped it from the woman's grasp. She felt through the thin fabric that something solid rested inside, but she said nothing and slung it over her shoulder to carry with them.  
"Aw, what was that for?" Nessie whined.  
"None of your business, Anne." Eliza strode forward to the front of the group and declared, "I'll see if any of the others recognize it when we get back, but, right now, we have to look for Regan, alright?"  
        And look the squad did; Eliza knew where Regan would be stationed, so getting to the cabin wasn't the problem, but arriving there and finding the place littered with the corpses of people and the few horses the squad had brought with them was the problem. Both luckily and unluckily, Regan was no where to be found; they knew where Lafayette was, of course, but there was another missing, who was one of the five stationed at the cabin. Two had been identified as deceased, two were alive, but the fifth was missing. Eliza raised her radio to her mouth, "Is Lafayette awake yet?"  
"Even if he was, Doc's still stabilizing him," was the standby's answer. "What'd you need him for?"  
"Never-mind," Eliza dismissed the question and sighed impatiently.  
        Nessie and the last two members of Eliza's squad, Aiden and Jesse, emerged from the basement and reported their findings of dried blood, consequently, a bloody axe, and an amputated forearm, which the three of them were too disgusted to touch. Hailey opened his mouth to suggest something, but was interrupted by static and a voice coming from Eliza's radio, "Eliza? Get over here, now."  
She picked it up. "The hell is wrong with you, Nicolas?"  
"Regan's here," was the man's only answer.  
A few more times Eliza tried to communicate with the man, but there came no response.  
Instead, the woman was surprised when an aggressive female voice contemptuously reported back, "You know where we are, and we're waiting. But I'm not as patient as the others. I'd hurry if I were you, little girl." The voice was indisputably a familiar one; one that she hadn't heard in far too long; one that she used to love.  
        The only thing Eliza could think to ask was, "How the hell did you find us?" However, the woman said nothing more in return, and the only thing left to do was to pray that they arrived there in time to prevent Felicia from doing whatever damage she had in mind.  
        All of them were familiar with Felicia; some were on better odds with her than others, but Eliza noticed Nessie's perturbed and bitter expression and empathized with the girl, knowing just what thoughts reemerged upon hearing the woman's harsh voice again. What Eliza had lost to Felicia was nothing in comparison to what she had put Nessie through; the scars on her arms and back that Eliza knew were there, despite never seeing, told as much. Felicia was a constant reminder that even family turns against one another, and the only regret she had for what she did was that she hadn't done it sooner.  
        Eliza was the first to see them, as she had gone ahead on her horse, but the others weren't far behind. She was shouting something at Nicolas, but the one thing she had her focus on was Regan. Felicia was holding him up by the back of his neck and pressing a knife to his throat. He shook his body every now and then, as if he were trying to escape, but Felicia only held him tighter. There were a few other people beside Felicia- no doubt people she befriended-, and there were others held hostage; two of them were in the same position as the boy. One looked about Regan's age, and the other was an unconscious woman. Two others were held by another man. Before Felicia could bark anything more, Eliza aimed her rifle and cut her off mid-sentence, " _Felicia!_ I'm here!" She slowly advanced, and her voice quivered slightly. "Tell me what you want from us!"  
The woman in question froze- not in fear, but, rather, in agitation- and turned to Eliza, taking the knife from Regan's throat; she smiled, but it was terribly forced. "I think you know the answer to that." Felicia raised her voice slightly, "I want what should have been mine; I want what you fucking stole from me."  
"Why now? Why do you just show up now?" Eliza knew it wasn't the best question to ask in her situation, but she wanted to delay the inevitable for as long as possible and was the only thing that came to mind when she held her sister at gunpoint. Nessie silently took to Eliza's side; her expression hadn't changed, and she didn't say a word.  
"Listen, Eliza," Felicia's smile slowly faded. "I don't want to hurt my little sister, alright?" She stepped forward. "You know that, don't you? And you don't want to hurt your big sister; you never did, right? I understand if-"  
"Shut up!" Eliza shouted, never looking away from the rifle's sight; her voice quivered again, and Felicia knew she was faltering. "I'm in charge, and I'm not going to bring you back in. Give me a good reason not to just shoot you and put you out of your misery."  
Felicia stepped back. "Because, if you do, all of you will die with me. The people you see now aren't the only ones around." She sheathed her knife. "And that includes Regan. I just want to talk, 'Liza."  
"You wouldn't," Eliza's voiced raised slightly. "You wouldn't kill Regan."  
Felicia's expression dropped, and, for a moment, as she looked back at the boy, she seemed to really consider her actions. Then, she turned back to Eliza, leaned in, and whispered, "El impulso de sobrevivir es de gran alcance, ¿no?"  
        The fact that Eliza did what she did disgusted her, but Regan's life was at state; that was something she couldn't risk. She promised the others that she would keep her sister on a tight leash and consult Mark about what to do, but, for now, Felicia was there to stay. Hailey lit his cigarette and frowned deeply, and she remembered what he had said on the way to the cabin. _Complete bullshit;_ that's what Eliza thought as she remembered. Hailey was just an old addict with charred, black lungs who coughed and hacked whenever he exerted himself physically, even in just the slightest way. He had a late daughter, sure, but that was before the epidemic; besides, he'd only spoken of her once and seemed to just forget about her. What does he know about love?  
        She hardly paid any attention to the others that Felicia had captured, but it was only until she went to comfort Regan that she realized it was Sidney. The others, however, she did not recognize. She noticed how harshly Sidney glared at her when she passed by the infirmary, and how they winced when she entered and spoke. Eliza didn't blame them. She berated her sister for being harsh, but they were related, after all. Kegan wasn't there, but Sidney didn't bring it up. She didn't push.  
        Eliza walked back to Jenna's room, and, as expected, the girl was still sitting quietly in the chair. She leaned on her hands, which pressed on the cold tabletop. She didn't bother with an apology or with an explanation as to why she had to leave. "Who's behind the glass?" Jenna dared to ask.  
"Doesn't matter. Want to know why you're so important?"  
Jenna could barely get a shrug in before Eliza continued.  
"Remember what the doctor gave you before you came here?"  
She nodded.  
"That's why you're important." Eliza straightened her back. "What he gave you was something experimental. The vaccine you carry is an immunity to the virus. The other two girls- what were their names?; we've given it to them, too." She paused when Jenna coughed. "I think I've already said this, but it's only experimental. That means that there's a catch to it. I don't know the exact details to it- only Mark and the doctor know what exactly it is, but it means, if you caught something minor, say, a cold, you'd almost certainly die. Ask the doctor for more details; you'll be seeing a lot more of him."  
Jenna just stared at her. "Immune to the virus? Isn't that good?"  
Eliza sighed. "Did you hear anything I just said? You're more susceptible to other illnesses, now. And that's _not_ good."  
"It's the same with Rachelle and Allie?"  
She nodded. "But the good part is that we have to protect you."  
The girl looked up at Eliza. "Wouldn't you have protected me otherwise?"  
Eliza began to pace, as her thoughts were somewhere else. "No. The Rangers don't protect each other much. I guess you could consider yourself lucky."  
Jenna fell silent.   
        Eliza's focus was redirected to her radio when it came alive with static and a voice saying something about someone finally awaking. She answered with an, "I'll be there," but, before Eliza completely left the room, she turned to look at Jenna with somewhat of a sorrowful expression- Jenna couldn't pinpoint the exact emotion, as the look was fleeting- and said, "El impulso de sobrevivir es de gran alcance, sí?"


End file.
